descentintotyranny:

Amy Goodman Questions Top U.S. Negotiator on Alleged Obstruction of U.N. Climate Talks in Doha

Dec. 5 2012

In a rare media appearance at the U.N. climate talks in Doha, U.S. climate negotiator Jonathan Pershing is questioned by Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman about the United States’ failure to do more to cut emissions and to save the planet from catastrophic climate change. Meanwhile, U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern has held just one press conference here in Doha. He was scheduled to hold another one today, but if you look at today’s conference list online, the event is the only one marked in red: The press conference was canceled.

AMY GOODMAN: Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! Civil society groups are extremely frustrated here. President Obama, in his first speech after he was elected, said that he didn’t want his—he didn’t want our children to live in an America that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. Yesterday, a number of civil society groups held a news conference, and they said at that news conference—Kumi Naidoo of Greenpeace International said, “Todd Stern and Jonathan Pershing have come to Doha with their needles stuck in the groove of obstructing the U.N. process, an art they have perfected.” And he said that it is “disrespectful of President Obama to inflict on us two negative negotiators who act as if the comments he made after his election were never made. Obama should pick up the phone and tell his delegates to follow his lead, or, alternatively, call them back to Washington.” That’s what Kumi Naidoo said. Jonathan Pershing, are you following President Obama’s wishes? And how do you respond to civil society groups who are saying that the U.S. is the lead obstructor to any kind of negotiated deal here in Doha?

JONATHAN PERSHING: I have no comment on the first part of that. On the second piece, I think the United States’s role is very much one of engaging actively and constructively in the discussion. We are one of the significant contributors to the intellectual thinking in the process. We have been. We will continue to try to do that. It doesn’t mean that we will agree with everyone on everything. This is, after all, a negotiation. We’re looking to participate in an outcome that will lead to a reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. We’re looking at an outcome that will be acceptable to all parties. We’re looking at an outcome that will be effective in the time frame that we’ve set for ourselves to move forward.

RONALD JUMEAU: Yeah, I just want to make a comment. The world that President Obama doesn’t want American children to live in is already here, and it’s only going to get worse. I guess the most frustrated people on earth now must be scientists. There’s all this talk about, all this waffle about, “We have to do things according to the science,” and everybody seems to—while the talks may be moving at a snail’s pace—as I said, the Doha caravan is lost in a sandstorm—everybody seems to be breaking their neck to get as far from the science as possible. So, the world is already here. And whether the U.S. or any other country, including my own, fears their children living in it, they are living in it. And I would hope maybe their kids should turn around and tell their parents, “Dad, haven’t you noticed? We’re already there.”

To all of Obama’s supporters who were excited about his comments on climate change in his post-election speech: you have GOT to learn how to separate the things he says from the things he does. Critics on the left are pissed off for a reason.

I agree with the sentiment, but I think it’s a mistake to blame these problems on the blanket term, “you Americans.” We need to separate the American people from the government that rules over us. Polls consistently show that Americans want these things, it’s just that we have very little control over how the country is run.

(via tenthousandunicorns)

oddlyclad:

Pretty much.

Sorry, but yeah. Pretty much.

(via americanfascism)

amodernmanifesto:

Trade union leaders met Tuesday with President Barack Obama to give their support to his plans for massive cuts in social programs upon which tens of millions of workers depend.

The hour-long, closed-door meeting at the White House was the first act in a carefully orchestrated campaign to convince the public that unprecedented cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps and other welfare programs are the only alternative to economic disaster in the form of the so-called “fiscal cliff.”

And this is why the American left is such a fucking joke.

Vijay Prashad, Inhale Reality, Exhale the Truth via Jadaliyya
(via jayaprada)

Brilliant.

(via mehreenkasana)

(via mehreenkasana)

(via proletarianinstinct)

Election Day Is Finally Here: Tonight Is Going to Suck No Matter What | Matt Taibbi (via theamericanbear)

This.

I was on campus today (in Pakistan - yes, we have universities! Isn’t that crazy?! I know, right!) and I was inside one of our very large auditoriums where at least more than 300 hundred students were sitting for a lecture by a guest speaker today. Before the seminar began and while everyone was sitting in the auditorium - young men and women - a lecturer took the mic and casually asked, “Tou phir kia banay ga inn Amreeki siyasi intikhabaat ka? (Translation: So what’s going to happen in the US Elections?)” And I kid you not: Everyone in the auditorium laughed. Yes, they laughed. They laughed and shook their heads. These were students from the tribal areas (where Bush/Obama issued drone strikes), these were students from other provinces, students from all classes (academic and social), majoring in all sorts of subjects and they were laughing together. Then one girl stood up and everyone paid attention and she said: “Koi tabdeeli nahi aati. Aap fiqr na karain. (Nothing changes. Don’t worry.)”

Try telling that to a zealous American voter today and they’ll try strangling you.

(via mehreenkasana)

(via mehreenkasana)

“Democrats Make Me Want To Vomit” by David Rovics, reposting for election day.

thekeyholepeeker:

edm-amen:

Since the U.S election is tomorrow I wanted to bring something to light to some people. As you can see, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are right next to each other. Obama and Mitt Romney believe in the same system, but with different methods of dealing with that system. Income inequality has gone up, the drone wars have increased, Obama passed the NDAA which means any U.S citizen can be captured and held indefinitely without due-process, Obama put Social Security on the chopping block as part of a bargain to raise the debt ceiling and he plans on doing the same if he is going to win a second term, he arrested and deported millions of immigrants, had the biggest crackdown on medical marijuana patients and dispensaries in years, to name a few. Obama is not this liberal bastion of hope so many people believe him to be. We always blame the Republicans for his first term even though he had a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress for the first two years of his first term.

Obama has done little to deal with climate change since he drastically increased oil production by allowing for more offshore oil-drilling, drilling on public lands, he approved the southern portion of the Keystone Pipeline XL, gave Shell the greenlight to drill in the Arctic, and didn’t address global warming at all during the debates. What I find so frightening is that this supposed liberal Democratic president can do all of these horrible things and still be cheered. How can a liberal cheer for a president with a “kill list”? How can a liberal cheer for income inequality? For bank bailouts? Drone wars that kill innocent men, women, and children on a daily basis? For more Bush tax cuts? I do not understand the world in which I live anymore.

I know the U.S electoral system is completely rigged and unfair when it comes to the electoral college;the popular vote does not count in the presidential election, only the electoral college does which means a candidate could win the election with 11 states and ignore the rest of the country. This system means the chances of a third party candidate winning is very slim when it comes to the electors. I, however, bulked that system and voted for my values which Jill Stein for the Green Party shares; a Green New Deal for jobs and a green economy, student debt forgiveness, ending the wars, decrease in military spending, breaking up the banks,  legalization of marijuana, and so many other policies this country so desperately needs. Do not feel obligated to vote for the two parties or feel that Obama is going to help the little guy, he’s not. You have the right to vote anyone you want really. I just hope when you do, you’ll understand and  know what it is you’re voting for. 

Here’s to a movement for a green future. Let this election be a wakeup call to action. 

Though I didn’t fact-check any of this, the writer makes several good points. Tomorrow will be a huge day in history, people. 

Here’s to hoping R-Money doesn’t go home with any extra cash in his wallet.

(via amodernmanifesto)

my reaction after someone wins the election

mehreenkasana:

lilyjoon:

It’s honestly sad to know that so many people see Obama this way. It’s so sad to know that rhetoric and media have so much influence on one’s perception of a being. It’s really, really sad to think that these people are just falling into this trap of believing he’s a good man, in it for the good of the country.

With these people, I don’t even want to give them the taste of reality. I want to so badly, but more than anything, I wish you never believed the lies to begin with. I just wish you knew right from the start how big of a warmonger Obama is and how he has absolutely no special interest in the assistance of the middle or lower classes. The class warfare is just the top contributor to campaign slogans selling the exact same product. It’s just… sad. Sad to think you all think he’s helping your education, your jobs, your condition… it’s sad you don’t give yourself enough credit to invest in the change you could make without any of his so elegantly persuasive rhetoric.

Romney is no better, either.

The comments above by Lily are important.

For millions within the United States of America as well as those around the world, these uninspiring presidential elections mean nothing because it is an unsettling competition between the Bad and the Worse. Without ever actually challenging this repetitive, endless cycle of having to choose between evil and more evil, less privileged people continue to suffer. And I’m not one to be a cynic but considering the course of political affairs in this country for the past decade, I can only say one thing: There is no real hope.

Anyone selling it is lying to you.

The problem is that Obama has been turned into a brand. This kind of propaganda makes people want to stop thinking critically about everything, and just jump into the warm embrace of a handsome man with a heart for a lapel pin. I can somewhat respect the decision to vote for Obama just to vote against Romney, but anyone who’s proud of what this president is doing has absolutely no idea what’s going on.

(via noam-chomsky)